Andy's Sunday tips - Chelsea to beat Reds

Sunday brings two huge matches that could be of massive importance at opposite ends of the table. West Ham play host to Birmingham City at lunchtime before Fernando Torres pulls on the blue shirt of Chelsea later on in the day. Make sure your diary is free folks and that you've got yourself the best view in the house, you won't want to miss this double-header of Premier League football at its best.

West Ham v Birmingham City

Motivation. That key word in football we hear time and time again. Every footballer lucky to play in this fantastic division has plenty of it, but West Ham's players may just have that little bit more than usual on Sunday afternoon.

Birmingham City deprived Avram Grant's troops of a place in the Carling Cup final with a brave come-from-behind win in the second leg of the semi and sit directly above them in the league. West Ham are desperate to win this match to avenge their cup heartbreak and leapfrog the Blues in the table.

Birmingham brought in three very handy players in the transfer window who know what this division is all about: David Bentley, Obafemi Martins and Curtis Davies, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if all three featured in their starting line-up.

Bentley has hardly played any football at all over the last couple of years but he hasn't become a bad player overnight and his crossing is right up there with the very best, whilst Martins is one of those confidence players who can become extremely dangerous once he's got a few goals under his belt.

West Ham did some good business of their own by getting Robbie Keane on loan and he could play a big role in this match. We know there's not much between these two sides, they needed extra time to separate them after 180 minutes of football, but a buzzing Upton Park and the fact West Ham will feel they have a point to prove makes me want to side with the home team.

Recommended Bets:
Back West Ham to win at [2.2]
Back West Ham to win 2-1 at [10.0]
Back both teams to score at [1.86]

Chelsea v Liverpool

Chelsea may have paid £50 million for him, they may have already sold a few thousand replica shirts since he put pen to paper and they may see him as the future of the club, but there are no guarantees that we'll see Fernando Torres start this match.

Of course the Chelsea fans will be desperate to see their star signing named in the starting XI against his old club, but Carlo Ancelotti may well decide that his number one priority is just to win this football match.

We all know what a wonderful footballer he is but this has been a stressful week for the World Cup winner and throwing him in at the deep end against the guys he trained alongside for three-and-a-half seasons may be too much, too soon.

Besides, Chelsea did fine without him midweek, beating Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, and the thinking may just be that those players who featured in that match are the ones to start in what is a game of huge importance. I may be wrong but I just have an inkling we'll see Torres come on from the bench rather than play from the beginning.

As for Liverpool, how to fit Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in the same side is a problem for Kenny Dalglish to worry about on another day. The Englishman is injured but the Uruguayan is fit and available and I expect him to start this match and give the Chelsea back four plenty of problems.

Whether Steven Gerrard plays just behind him or in the heart of the midfield remains to be seen. As ever, they'll need a big performance from the skipper if they're to get anything from this game.

All in all, I don't think there's much between these two in terms of firepower but the same can't be said of their respective defences and that's where I expect the game to be won. John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic form a formidable partnership whilst Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa are amongst the two best full backs in Europe but Liverpool's back four aren't quite as consistent.

Readers of this column will know what a big fan of Pepe Reina I am but the rest of the defence isn't quite as solid. Martin Kelly is a fine prospect but still a bit green, Glen Johnson is playing out of position at left back and though he's had his critics in recent months, Jamie Carragher's leadership and experience have been sorely missed while he's been out injured.

I'm expecting a wonderful game of football here, this is what the Premier League is all about, but I'd be very surprised if Torres doesn't kick off his Chelsea career with a win.

Recommended Bets:
Back Chelsea to win at [1.64]
Back Chelsea to win 2-1 at [9.6]
Back both teams to score at [2.0]

Andy Gray is now on Twitter so follow him for his exclusive tips and his take on the biggest stories in football each week.

Published: 5 Feb 2011

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